Wednesday, 16 May 2012

The day brought about truly scandalous developments. At a press conference (15 May) on hate crimes and recent attack on DIY bar in Yerevan, it was revealed that Armenian MPs from the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party Artsvik Minasyan and Hrayr Karapetyan bailed out one of the detained arsonists, while the other one was released on signature that he won’t leave the country.

In an interview with Panorama.am, Artsvik Minasyan effectively confirmed the news, saying that he knows the detainees and they are “normal people, normal persons; the investigation will reveal to what extent the violation they committed endangered public safety”.

Basically, Armenian MP of ARF Dashnaktsutyun party Artsvik Minasyan supports and encourages terrorism in Armenia. With such statement, he acted as a pure criminal. ARF Dashnaktsutyun party must explain what's going on or else I'll conclude they support terrorism too.

@onewphoto: [...] I question suitability of bail 4 someone caught on camera firebombing a target in a residential building. Especially given risk of him escaping to Iran. This is high-level connections crap. Bail amount was nothing too.

@KevorkO: A 'national ideology' that deems thuggery and terrorism more 'normal' than homosexuality is nothing less than degenerate

On Facebook, journalist friend reacted to ARF Dashnak MP support of arsonists against DIY: “ARF has died. Tomorrow is the burial”.

One Dashnak member changed her Facebook profile picture with the one of rainbow colours and “Dashnaks for LGBT rights” written across.

If ARF Dashnaktsutyun won't make clear statements distancing itself from its own MP, then truly this is a death of ARF Dashnaktsutyun as a political party and its transformation into a neo-nazi group that supports and encourages terrorism in Armenia. Needless to say, utterly homophobic too.

If ARF-affiliated groups and party members worldwide care about the reputation of their party, and - more importantly - the future of Armenia, they should speak up against homophobia. They should demand that ARF makes statement clearly disassociated from their MP’s statement. They should demand that disgraced MP Artsvik Minasyan resign.

New attack on DIY

On 15 May new attack on DIY bar was carried out by reportedly group of 16-18 years old youth. Attackers burned anti-fascist posters in DIY and painted Nazi signs on the wall.

*picture by Lara Aharonian

The attack was captured by CCTV, and two of the alleged attackers were questioned.

An early morning arson attack on the popular Yerevan-based bar, DIY last week has led to an outpouring of support from concerned citizens, activists and customers who frequented the relatively new establishment, but also anxiously renewed fears in the country’s LGBTQ population, who have kept a relatively low profile and faced discrimination for years.

DIY, which bills itself as a bar for alternative thinkers, was frequented by many in Armenia’s gay community, a place considered a safe haven, free of judgment or discrimination. The violent act, which caused around $4,000 of damage according to well-informed sources, is being said to have been motivated by nationalistic and fascist ideology – the bar’s gay-friendly atmosphere as well as owner Tsomak Oganesova’s attendance at Istanbul’s Gay Pride Parade in neighboring Turkey have been cited as two key factors that have categorized the attack as a hate crime. [...]